A managed print service is used to manage the operation of printing devices, such as printers, scanners, copiers, multifunction devices and/or the like, in a unified fashion. The managed print service can permit an enterprise to outsource management of its hardcopy devices to an external vendor, which allows the enterprise to focus on its core business.
Managed print services often provide supplies to an enterprise customer for replenishment of consumables, such as toner, ink, drive motor belts or other belts, nip wheels, light sources and/or the like. When a printing device needs to have a consumable item replaced, the printing device can send an alert to a customer care center for a managed print service. Typically, such alerts are generated based on software and/or hardware within a printing device. Such alerts identify conditions within a printing device, such as when the amount of a consumable drops below a threshold. Alternately, a customer can call the customer care center to place an order for a consumable. In addition, the customer can make a request through a web portal to the customer care center for a consumable to be replaced.
One problem with alerts is that many alerts are cancelled upon review by the customer care center because the consumable is not actually needed by the printing device. Faulty alerts waste customer care center resources and raise the overall cost of providing the managed print service.